Honoring Junot Diaz upon the occasion of winning the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award 2013

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May 21, 2013: ADOPTED

May 21, 2013: REPORTED TO CALENDAR FOR CONSIDERATION

May 10, 2013: REFERRED TO FINANCE

Text

LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Junot Diaz upon the occasion of winning
the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award 2013
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to
those American artists who have achieved worldwide recognition, for, in
so doing, we also give thanks for our freedom which allows us to create
and express ourselves artistically; and
WHEREAS, It is also the tradition of this Legislative Body to pay
tribute to those individuals of historic and literary significance whose
creative talents have contributed to the cultural enrichment of our
communities and our Nation; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concerns, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Junot Diaz upon the occasion of winning the Sunday Times EFG Private
Bank Short Story Award 2013; and
WHEREAS, Junot Diaz is the author of the critically acclaimed DROWN;
THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize
and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE
HER, a NEW YORK TIMES bestseller and National Book Award finalist; and
WHEREAS, Junot Diaz' numerous awards and accolades include a MacArthur
"Genius" Fellowship, the PEN/Malamud Award, the Dayton Literary Peace
Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, the PEN/O. Henry Award, and Rome Prize
from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; he was also selected as
one of the 39 most important Latin American writers under the age of 39
by the Bogota Book Capital of the World and the Hay Festival; and
WHEREAS, Junot Diaz is regarded as one of the best short story writers
of his generation; his short fiction has appeared in THE NEW YORKER,
which listed him as one of the 20 top writers for the 21st century,
STORY, THE PARIS REVIEW and in several anthologies; and
WHEREAS, Junot Diaz won the prestigious British literary contest with
"Miss Lora", a short story from his collection, THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE
HER; in addition to the honor, the Times EFG Private Bank Short Story
Award carries with it the world's richest short story cash prize; and
WHEREAS, Well known for his ability to seamlessly integrate Spanish
into English text, Junot Diaz wrote "Miss Lora" in Spanglish; the judges
panel noted that the story stood out "with its precise, unflinching
prose, and with its brilliant evocation of an immigrant world struggling
with modernity"; and
WHEREAS, Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey,
Junot Diaz is a graduate of Rutgers College; he is currently the fiction
editor at BOSTON REVIEW, and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of
Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and
WHEREAS, It is most fitting that we take time to honor our literary
giants, recognizing their transcendent ability to reflect the multiple
and manifold hopes, dreams and experiences that comprise the American
character and their invaluable contributions to the uplift and inspira-
tion of generations and communities across this great State and Nation;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Junot Diaz upon the occasion of winning the Sunday Times EFG
Private Bank Short Story Award 2013; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Junot Diaz.

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